Spicy Wolf 2050
by 14thSquadCaptain
Summary: Holo gets revived in 2050.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Spice and Wolf is a light novel written by Isuna Hasekura, illustrated by Ju Ayakura. It is published by ASCII Media Works, and the American publisher is Yen Press. I do not own any part of Spice and Wolf, in any media format, nor its associated paraphernalia and merchandise. This is a not-for-profit fan-written fiction story. Please support the official release.**

1 Wolf and New Awakening

_"Enjoy your year of fieldwork, Mr. Lucent!" A cheerful aged man waved to the back of a bus as his white-haired head slowly drifted out of view. Adrian Lucent heard none of that, though, as the rumbling of the bus engine drowned out any sounds from the outside. He looked out a window, watching with ennui the many cars that passed by on the busy highway. It would be a year before he would see something as mundane as cars zipping along a street, as he would spend that time in one of the few remaining rural reserves in the country._

_ Adrian pinched at his cheek, where a strand of brown hair had fallen, and made him itch. His hair was getting long, and he considered getting a haircut once he arrived, if he could figure out where to find a barber. It was a government-sponsored reserve, he reminded himself. Dr. Bartoh had given him copious amounts of information, from archaic print brochures to the latest Onet transfers, regarding the reserve. "ARS-0098", was the government's designation for Adrian's destination, the Agricultural Reserve Sector that was set aside for research and thus saw relatively little modernization. They did have electricity, as the entire country was linked by the Subspace Web, the safe and practical usage of antimatter annihilation energy to supply electricity throughout the nation. However, Adrian heard that almost everyone who chose to be permanent residents on the ARS used the outdated Internet as their primary means of communication. Even more unbelievable, some of them even continued to use print on material media. What was more, they used paper rather than the more durable and reusable nanocarbon leaves._

_ How primitive, thought Adrian, as he let his mind wander into wilder imagination. He wondered what it would be like in a world that was essentially frozen in a moment of the past, without the conveniences of modern life. Probably not so bad, he reminded himself. The university's mandatory history courses included one dedicated to the development of culture and technology in the early 21st century, which really wasn't so long ago. His grandfather was even born before then, and spoke at times about phones connected to wires, called landlines or something, and computers with the memory capacity equivalent to childrens' toys of the modern age. His grandfather always had something to say about the technology, how different it had become, how back in his day there were no robots who looked "creepily like us and talked back to us". Although, Grandpa never did complain about the new technology, thought Adrian. Rather, he seemed fairly adaptable to the new inventions._

_ Still, thought Adrian once he returned his thoughts away from the tangent he had been following. It wasn't that bad, actually. Compared even to the early 20th century, general hygiene was much better, and the technology, although obsolete by modern standards, was still functional and provided more than satisfactory comforts and conveniences. Besides, Adrian recalled, I came here to study wheat hybrid engineering, not sit around a computer wasting time in the Onet's Gnossus, the digital vault that contained the most current and constantly updated information on every subject. One could get lost for days in the ecstasy of a nearly continuous flow of new knowledge while linked to the Gnossus. Then again, thought Adrian, there was also the pre-Gnossus pre-Onet analogue that existed on the Internet. It was some digital encyclopedia or something, with a rather clever name that he couldn't recall. Nevertheless, it paled in comparison, and while Adrian was one among the ever-decreasing population of scholars who were capable of reading pre-Onet text, he did not have any intentions of reading articles on an older machine. _

_ That's right, he thought. There were those brochures Dr. Bartoh had given him. Being a former classmate of his grandfather, it was unsurprising that Dr. Bartoh would know how to read pre-Onet languages, and continue to use material print. Adrian looked absently at one of the brochures. In bright pink letters it exclaimed, "st=(welc:ccARS-0098\]); send=(ord_J|&mod=sil\])"_

_ Without looking any further, Adrian placed that back in his gray backpack. So even the paper prints used Netspeech now. He pulled out another brochure, wondering whether he'd find similar results. Thankfully, it did not, and instead read in plain black cursive script, "Welcome to Kiel (ARS-0098)!" So it was called Kiel before its designation as a research reserve. The picture showed an overhead panoramic view of what resembled an early-century city, although with no tall buildings, and several large areas dedicated to the wheat fields. Clear color gradients could be seen even in the picture, indicating the different hybrid strains being grown._

_Adrian smiled as he looked at the picture. He had never before lived outside the modern city, East/220-51004-018, designated by the following parameters: Country Region/Section-Province-District. Like all other modern civilized areas, it followed the Netspeech syntax of naming. Although to be accurate, it would have to be preceded by the country code, in this case, 000582, not that there were a hundred thousand countries. However, the International Architecture and Planning Board, or the IAPB, deemed it necessary that a conservative maximum be estimated in the event of a large and sudden surge in sovereignty claims. After the Enochian Emperors' War of Succession, colloquially called "World War 3", that possibility was not entirely remote. Nevertheless, most of the world was peaceful by now due to the many modern distractions provided by technology._

_Most people simply linked to their personalized Onet space reserved especially to conform to their roles as gods, and they satisfied their violence and anger in those worlds where they reigned supreme. Some crime still occurred, of course, but they were rare, and PubServ was very quick and efficient with intervention. Wars still occurred as well, but as far as Adrian knew, they were mostly in the western continents, and fought either by robots or through Onet Realsense, a shared virtual reality where pain could be felt, but death was generally not possible except for those with other medical conditions._

_ In short, Kiel would be a much different place than the enormous city that Adrian had lived in all his life. The fact that it even could be so bold as to provide an old-style name meant it would be a different experience already. Yet Adrian continued to feel both excitement and unease, as he would face a strange world that resembled something out of the past, something that usually only existed in places like the Gnossus History section, or various museums' welcome pages. But it also meant a genuine experience, to know firsthand how those in his grandfather's generation lived. As he thought about this, he began drifting to sleep as the bus roared on with its reverse cycle engine along the magnetized highway._

The sun was bright. That was the first thing that struck Adrian as he stepped out of the bus. Had it always been so bright? Probably. It was no secret that sunlight was polarized and passed through a triple layer of UV blocking filters before reaching the ground of his homecity. As a result, with few exceptions, the city would have artificial lighting year-round. Adrian could count the number of times when there was no artificial lighting in the city on one hand, and more specifically, one finger. Once, when there was a particularly strong solar flare, and when cloud cover was non-existent, the city was sufficiently lit by natural light. All other times, a perpetual dusk permeated the place. With the artificial lights, it was hardly noticeable, but now that he was in an area of unfiltered sunshine, the difference was clear. Adrian silently congratulated himself for taking up his grandfather's advice of getting supplementary melanin before leaving. His tanned skin tolerated the autumn midday sun quite well, whereas his formerly pale skin would probably have been burned.

Two women approached him, both dark-skinned, one a head shorter than Adrian, and one slightly taller. As both were dressed in the form-fitting protective suits of all government-approved scientists, Adrian knew at once that those two were his lab associates. He waved to them and greeted the shorter woman first.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Morris."

Dr. Morris looked up at Adrian, putting up a hand to shield her eyes against the sun. "Afternoon, kid. You're Hans' student, I guess. Welcome to Kiel, or ARS zero zero nine eight, whatever you prefer. This is my head tech, Maryam Singh. You probably won't meet much, but at least you know each other now. Maryam, meet Adrian."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Singh." Adrian extended his hand to her.

Maryam returned the handshake, and said, "The same, Adrian. Please call me Maryam. I look forward to working with you."

"Right, now that we're more or less acquainted, let's go." The youthful Dr. Morris called for Adrian and her older technician to follow her into their cab.

As the two women moved inside the car, Adrian struggled with the large black case that he brought as his only other luggage apart from his backpack. With some difficulty he and the driver managed to stuff it into the trunk. Once he climbed into the backseat with Maryam, she asked, "What did you bring in that case? It looked heavy."

"His house, probably," Offered Dr. Morris.

Adrian chuckled nervously. "Well, nothing really exciting. Dr. Bartoh insisted that I bring my samples here."

"Oh?" Asked Maryam, curiosity entering her steady voice.

With excitement in his voice at being able to talk about his work, Adrian replied, "Well, I pretty much revived an old strain I guess. From what Dr. Bartoh and I have determined, its genomic integrity is within one ten-thousandth of an uncategorized pre-firearm breed. You know that myth about pagan wheat?"

"Pagan wheat? I'm sorry, but I don't really keep up with antiquity stories. Dr. Morris, would you know about this?"

"There's a reason why Gnossus puts unconfirmed myths and those that can't be confirmed in the fiction section. I've been there once. I fought some musclehead named Achilles and won. It was pretty boring if you ask me." Dr. Morris glanced through the mirror in her frontseat at Adrian, who looked forward out the windshield at the foreign scenery.

He smiled at the remark, and closed his eyes briefly as though he was used to the reactions of unfamiliarity and disbelief demonstrated by the two women. "A long time ago there were rituals people performed in this area to their pagan gods for a good harvest. Apparently this place was a farming village back in Medieval times. Or at least that book in the traditional library said so."

"You read material print?" Asked Maryam next to Adrian.

"Yes. The Onet didn't consider pagan myths to be relevant historical data on this area, and didn't even provide their old-style names. I didn't even know this place was called Kiel. The book said it was called something else. I don't remember. What, don't you guys have those old-style libraries here?"

"We do, but hardly anyone goes anymore. We do have Onet access, you know." Dr. Morris put a slight emphasis on the last two words as her lips formed what Adrian thought was a sneer, as though she was insulted. "It's good that you can actually read pre-Onet. Most kids your age can't, and that's a big shame. Ah, stop here."

The cab pulled to an abrupt stop, surprising Adrian, who was jolted forward before his safety harness decelerated his motion and gently returned him to proper sitting position. Dr. Morris opened her door, telling Adrian over her shoulder, "See you, kid. Our lab's this way. The driver knows where to take you. Enjoy." With a curt wave, she walked off to the large white building shaped like a long rectangle. Maryam nodded to Adrian, and also opened her door, following after Dr. Morris.

"Gee, guess they couldn't give me a tour, huh? Must be some important experiment they're doing."

The driver didn't reply, driving silently the rest of the way to Adrian's home.

"I was told to bring you here." They stopped in front of a red brick building, fairly small and clearly designed for a single occupant. The driver stepped out to help Adrian with the heavy case, and left without another word.

Before he reached the door, Adrian stopped to gaze at the house. Real red brick! He had only seen pictures, videos, and Onet simulations of such buildings made of the colorful but obsolete and wasteful material. He let his hand trace the old, dull, nearly brown rectangles that combined in a fixed pattern to form a wall. Coolness of the damp bricks made him realize how real the setting was. This was history, frozen long ago, and thawed before him. Adrian was mesmerized for many long minutes, simply gazing at the house, as though he was seeing a museum piece that was authentic, not reproduced as a replica. And he would even live there.

But he couldn't stand outside forever, and a chilly autumn breeze reminded him of that fact. Dragging his case filled with his resurrected ancient wheat, he moved into the small house. Inside was the smell of aging wood. The interior living room was bare, except for a round wooden table in the center of the stone floor, with a single wooden chair accompanying it. A bed was set up in the far corner of the room, and to Adrian's relief, it looked new. At least whoever was here before him took care to set up some furniture. In the smaller alcove that served as a kitchen, Adrian found a refrigerator, an electric oven, and heating pads. At least the house appeared to have all modern conveniences. Switching on the lights, the familiar sterile white fluorescent glow greeted Adrian. The technology was not as advanced, but it was still objectively very advanced. At least there was electricity, thought Adrian, something that he oddly had doubted, despite knowing well that the early-century technology was clearly heavily dependent on electricity.

Moving further to the bathroom, there was a porcelain bathtub, completely white with matching sink and toilet. Adrian found it amusing that there was actually a bathtub, as the last time he had seen one was in his grandfather's old home. And looking at the toilet, he saw that indeed there was toilet paper. That, he thought, might be a problem. He would have to keep a supply of toilet paper, something he never bought in the city because all buildings that conformed to city codes had the clean flush installed. He proceeded to turn on the sink, rubbing his fingers under the water. Low antiseptic concentration in the tap water. He would have to buy soap, another item that was not found except in specialty stores. In fact, soap was often associated more with couples seeking to have a sensual session in the shower rather than any sort of hygienic application.

With his round through the house complete, Adrian settled down in the living room and began unpacking his gray backpack of all his necessary belongings: A phone, a cash card, a government researcher ID, a paper notebook, and graphite mechanical pencils. The latter two items were highly unusual, but Adrian prepared to use them in case accommodations for his electronics could not be found. The phone beeped plaintively as a mature female voice berated Adrian for allowing the battery to drop to dangerous levels. Unfazed by the phone that was scolding him, Adrian plugged it in to the old electrical socket, connecting a special adapter to the phone such that it would fit. Satisfied to be connected to an external source of power, the phone's AI calmed down and began having a conversation with Adrian as he continued to unpack.

"This is a strange place, isn't it, master?" The phone's voice sounded realistic, much like one would expect an older sister to sound like.

While casually unclasping the locks on the large, heavy black case, Adrian entertained his phone by replying, "Yeah, it's like something out of a museum, but real. It's kind of like if you suddenly popped out as a real person."

"Aw, I resent that, master. See if I ever give you directions anymore."

"Ha, I can't have an AI go rogue on me, you know. I guess I'd have no choice but get a newer model to replace you." Adrian smirked while he responded, and the final clasp became undone. The phone was silent. "Hey, Maddy, you mad or something?" He fought back a snicker at the rather poor statement he just made, but when he considered that his current conversation partner was a complex collection of code, he laughed aloud.

A slightly irritated female voice cut him off during his peals of laughter, saying in a sarcastic tone, "You sound rather pleased, master. What, saying you'll throw me away like trash not good enough? You have to rub some salt into Madeleine's circuits and make a bad pun?"

"You wouldn't feel the salt, Maddy. Oh, hey, it's finally open." The lid raised, and cold gas hissed out as the pressurized and temperature-controlled seal was broken. Bushels of wheat were packed neatly into the case, all ripe and golden. "Great, my fossils survived. Hey Maddy, much as I like talking to you, I'm going to go out and do some important shopping. Be good."

"Have a safe trip, master," Said Maddy in a sweet tone, suggesting no hints that before she was in a bad mood.

Several bags fell to the floor once Adrian returned. Food, toilet paper, soap, a toothbrush, several casual sets of clothing, and some other furniture, all lumped in one mass on the living room floor. "Good gosh, that's a lot of stuff I bought." Adrian caught his breath before beginning the mighty task of sorting through his purchases and placing them in the right locations. Food, he handled first, putting them in the antique refrigerator. Next, he folded his clothes and stuck them in a small plastic drawer he bought. Finally, he moved to the bathroom to place his soap and toilet paper, but he heard sounds of running water. Taking a wary stance, Adrian moved slowly to the bathroom, expecting to meet some intruder.

A pair of brown fur-covered ears twitched once Adrian's face peered through the door. Lying fully nude in the bathtub, enjoying a warm bath, was a girl with smooth light skin, long chestnut brown hair, and two canine ears. She was washing what appeared to be a furry tail when Adrian entered the bathroom. Unembarrassed, the girl looked at Adrian, and asked calmly, "Are you the one who possessed the pure wheat?"

Adrian, slightly confused by what he saw, simply nodded.

"Then to you I give my thanks." Said the girl.

"Ah, no problem," was all he managed to utter as he stared blankly at the girl's ears and tail. The girl appeared unperturbed by his gaze and continued to wash herself.

After a few seconds of silent staring, Adrian finally asked, "Who are you?"

That made the girl smile slyly, her red eyes shifting to match his stare. "I am the wise wolf Holo."

"You mean a wolf human hybrid? Wait, I thought that was illegal." Adrian then began talking more to himself than Holo, muttering, "That'd be trouble if PubServ found out. She must've escaped. Where? Damn, why did she come here of all places? Did I lock the door?"

"Hey!" Holo's loud voice shook Adrian's attention back to her. "I had been calling you several times now but it looked like you preferred talking to yourself. Stop using such foreign words and tell me what you are saying. I might not understand every word you use, but I can hear the fear in your voice."

"You must be a hybrid. Those ears and tail are clear proof, unless they're fake."

"Hmph, I will have you know that they are very real and they are my pride."

"Ok, definitely hybrid. Ok, look, Holo? Yeah, in this country, well, this world, really, experiments on humans that modify their bodies is strictly forbidden. I mean, it's punishable by death you know."

Holo gave an indifferent glance to Adrian. "You speak about hybrids, but I am certainly no such thing. I am a pure-blood wolf god, and the fertility goddess of this land."

"Uh, sure." Adrian waved a hand dismissively, causing Holo to clench her teeth and twitch her ears angrily. "Look, I don't know where you came from, or who you are, but you'll cause me a lot of trouble if anyone sees you. So, goddess, can you leave this mere mortal alone? Please."

With a tired sigh, Holo replied, "You are as skeptic as my last companion. Time it seems does not change you humans' ways. Give me some of your wheat."

"What?"

"Or would you prefer blood? I can show you now that I am not a human creation but something much older. If I prove it to you, will you help me?"

Adrian shrugged. "I guess if you prove to me you're a goddess, then I don't have much say in the matter. Hang on, let me get some of that wheat. I'd rather not lose any blood."

Returning with a handful of grain, he handed some to Holo, who swallowed them. "I will show you only a part of me, so I hope this will be enough." What followed was a bizarre transformation that changed Holo's slender human left arm into a large furry front leg of a wolf, but it was a gigantic limb, nothing Adrian had ever seen on any canid.

"That's impossible." Said Adrian. "Mass expansion without energy input, no spatial distortions. This goes against everything we know in TQ theory!"

"Oh my, you are using strange words again. Can you believe your sight and your touch then?"

As Adrian moved forward and touched the furry limb with his fingers, Holo looked at him with slight amusement. "You are not afraid?" She asked.

He shook his head. "More like, I'm seriously confused now. For over a hundred years we've studied just about every observable phenomenon. These things just don't happen in this world. Or, I thought they shouldn't happen."

"Then does this convince you to help me?" Asked Holo expectantly.

"I don't know what you want, but I guess I've seen enough to make me think that crossing you is a bad idea. So sure, I'll help out with what I can."

As Holo's arm began to shrink back into a human arm, she explained to Adrian, "I have been asleep for so long. My existence is linked to the wheat, and all along, I could not inhabit any. Only yours was good enough to allow me to have a body. You should feel special."

"Ah, I see. So I have your lifeline to this world and you want me to do what, exactly? Give you the wheat?"

"That would work for me." Holo stepped out of the bathtub, leaving water dripping on the stone floor. She shook herself, splashing water on Adrian, who held out a towel. While drying herself, she said, "But it has been so long, and I have been very lonely. Would you care to keep me company while I explore this new world?"

"What? What are you saying?" Stuttered Adrian. "You can't just go out like that!"

"Then I will let you take care of me," crooned Holo, who drew closer to Adrian so that the tips of her ears brushed against Adrian's chin. "Will you protect me in this unfamiliar world? I am awake again after so long, and I really want to enjoy this life again."

Adrian was clearly flustered, and said, "At least put a towel on! Just stay in this house and I'll go get you some clothes and a hat and stuff and, I guess."

"You're an easy one to tease, just like Lawrence. Maybe you won't disappoint me. Tell me, what is your name?"

"Adrian. Er, Adrian Lucent."

With a sly grin, Holo extended her hand to Adrian, the other hand gripping the towel that barely covered her body. Awkwardly Adrian shook hands with her. "Well then, Adrian Lucent, I, Holo, the Wise Wolf, place myself in your care. Please treat me well."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Spice and Wolf is a light novel written by Isuna Hasekura, illustrated by Ju Ayakura. It is published by ASCII Media Works, and the American publisher is Yen Press. I do not own any part of Spice and Wolf, in any media format, nor its associated paraphernalia and merchandise. This is a not-for-profit fan-written fiction story. Please support the official release.**

2 Wolf and Modern Life

"Microwave," blurted Holo, pointing at a CRT TV.

"Television, cathode ray tube television," corrected Adrian's phone, Madeleine. It continued with a short fact that it considered interesting, "The last model produced outside special reserve sectors was on July 2, 2031."

Holo gave a soft click of her tongue, appearing not in the least interested in that piece of history. "Hey, I thought you said they used the same waves in the sky." She looked at Adrian pointedly, an annoyed slant appearing on her red eyes.

Adrian hurriedly said, "Look, they both need electricity to run. But they're not the same thing at all. That's like saying we're the same thing because we both live here." He paused, considering the analogy. It was really weak, and from what he gathered, Holo already heard it in the tone of his voice.

For her part though, Holo remained silent, looking at the man with a knowing gaze. The phone chose to be tactful and say nothing as well, stopping a premature statement that might have become "The wolfgirl is unamused". Then when Adrian looked away, Holo sighed, closing her eyes. "Let me try again."

The "wolf goddess" and the phone continued to work on the names of common early-century household appliances. With that opening, Adrian took the chance to leave the brick house which had lately felt smaller and more suffocating.

Stepping outside, he gasped in a quick breath of chilly autumn air. It was cold, dry, crisp air. It reminded Adrian that winter was soon to come. He had heard that winters in the rural preserves would be tough, mostly because there would be limited transportation to the more populated areas. Food and most other resources would be extremely difficult to get once the snowfall began. Even more concerning was the introduction of Holo, who for the past three days had done nothing but eat his food and sleep in the bed he originally intended for himself. She had promised to reward him greatly when the time came, though Adrian wondered whether she meant that such time would ever occur in his lifetime. Human lifespan had dramatically increased, but even so, no one had ever lived to two centuries. If the wolf goddess really had lived for several centuries as she claimed, then it could be very likely that she would stay with him for the rest of his life. And so Adrian would die unrewarded and with a wolf-person looking over his dead body.

That was a frightening thought. A chill ran over his body, though it had nothing to do with the cold air. For three days he had done nothing but babysit Holo, staying inside almost all the time to make sure she caused no damage when attempting to use household appliances. Some field work he was getting done, Adrian noted with sarcasm. It was a wonder the lab didn't send someone over already to find out what was taking him so long. At times Adrian even expected a camera to monitor his actions, as those would still be installed even in early century buildings, but his careful searches turned up nothing. Still, the silence was beginning to bother him.

It had been only three days. Adrian noted this as fairly significant because it seemed much longer. Their first meeting, with Holo in the bathtub, went by like a flash, but after that incident, things seemed more troubling and tiring.

_Two days ago, Holo tried to use the oven. She burned a pie, which Adrian thought was actually a sad achievement because the oven came with a timer that automatically shut off the heat once the pie was done. Before he made any comment though, he remembered the time his college roommates burned down two floors of their apartment trying to use a similar machine. And that machine actually had AI equipped, who, unamused when the fire brigade retrieved it relatively intact, quipped that it was pissed off at 'a bunch of drunk frathouse kids messing with my settings'._

_He resisted the urge to laugh as that would probably make Holo think he was ridiculing her. She turned to look at him, giving him a look that dared him to react._

_She said in what Adrian perceived as a rather stilted and formal speech, "This is not a simple task, Adrian. If you had given me better instructions I would surely have done better."_

"_Yeah, sorry, probably should have given you the instruction manual." Adrian had learned very quickly to indulge Holo when he could, as that usually made her talk less. And her talking less meant his head hurt less. Adrian didn't like conversations that required old-style language. Years of habituation to Netspeech had made him used to very precise, short, broken phrases that moved along at a quick tempo and spent no time on vague descriptions or unnecessary words. Yet such things were often too common in Holo's speech._

_But when he thought that was the worse that could happen, Holo discovered how to use a refrigerator to pump heat in the opposite direction of what was intended._

_Amusing, Adrian had thought at the time. It had been a long while since he had to recall the transition period's physical chemistry principles of heat exchange. A refrigerator simply used a heat sink to…he didn't have time to think about that. The melted cheese and warm milk was enough._

_And after three days, Adrian still had no idea what Holo's intentions were. She seemed to be content simply to fool around in the house. To his surprise, she never tried leaving, nor ever expressed a desire to do so. He could not understand that. If he had to stay inside for even a day he would start to get restless. Either he'd have to leave for larger space, or connect to the Onet. Come to think of it, how did people live without the Onet? He heard from his grandfather's stories that in his childhood even the outdated Internet was uncommon and slow. Well, perhaps they couldn't be dependent on something they never knew. Ignorance was truly wonderful, thought Adrian._

"Hey, your phone keeps saying you have a call." That wolf goddess called from behind him, breaking him away from the stupor he had been slipping into more frequently recently. He took the phone from her without a word and returned indoors to the central heating. Back to warmth, a wave that greeted him once he entered through the door. Turning her head deliberately to follow his movements, Holo directed her ears towards the phone, curious about Adrian's conversations.

So far, she knew Adrian had called his grandfather several times to ask for library books. Beyond that, she could not understand. He used a foreign language, one that sounded fragmented, like a series of individual notes with stops after each one rather than a flowing natural piece. And his grandfather apparently hated it, though he said nothing noteworthy.

From the phone, Holo understood that the spoken language was often used to communicate directly and more precisely with machines like the very phone she was talking to. It was the standard language of something called the Onet. All things she never encountered before. She had noticed the radical changes in the world by then, with the many electronic machines more complex than would ever have been imagined in the days she was last awake and moving in the world.

But Adrian had insisted that the things in his house were dated, even obsolete. Holo had trouble imagining what further inventions humans had made in the hundreds of years since she went into dormancy, and she was curious to find out, once Adrian decided to leave Kiel. She learned from the small box called a phone, that the current republic had established a system of dividing its land into special sections. Kiel, the rural town they were currently staying in, was a special area reserved for agriculture research. As such, only the research facilities had modern technology. All other technology was strictly limited at the latest to what was publicly available by 2020, thirty years ago, according to the phone.

This time it wasn't his grandfather who Adrian spoke to on the other side of the phone. Instead it was a woman's voice. Again, they were using the mechanical language, and Holo understood only that Adrian sounded uneasy.

"_Timesense local negative one pass true. Ob negative one sub zero. Ind value five three…" _was roughly what Holo heard Adrian begin to say into the phone. On the other end, Dr. Morris understood the highly structured Netspeech as, "Good afternoon. Do you need something?"

She replied, also in the same modern language that was nearly universal among all civilized humans, which Adrian also translated subconsciously. "You haven't reported to the lab in three days, Adrian. Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong, Dr. Morris." Thankfully Netspeech was very poor at conveying emotions, so Adrian's eye roll at how blatantly false that statement was went unnoticed. "I just wanted to get used to my surroundings before I send my samples to the lab."

"We are getting concerned. Your samples were due to be processed yesterday. Our experiments rely on them." Her voice sounded completely neutral, well-suited for Netspeech.

"Sorry, I'll get it over soon, maybe tomorrow?"

"That won't be necessary. I have already sent Maryam to your residence. You are at your residence, are you not?"

Adrian blanked suddenly. It would cause a lot of misunderstanding, not to mention having PubServ track him down and take him into CentSec as a rogue mutation engineer. They dealt harshly with those kinds, who played with natural selection as if it were a game, inducing mutations that should never have existed. What would they do anyway? His grandfather and Dr. Bartoh had both said on separate occasion that the Genetics Division of PubServ was one of the most frightening places to be.

It was also inevitable that he would be cast under suspicion, especially when human-animal hybrids that looked like Holo had been achieved before. Hiding her in his house also probably would not look good. He searched his mind quickly while Dr. Morris was on the line, trying first to think of some excuse to divert Maryam from arriving. But she was already on her way. There was probably no way she could be reached anyway. Then he thought about where to hide Holo. Could she fit in a closet? Probably, since she was fairly small. Would she do it? Only one way to find out, decided Adrian.

"Alright, Dr. Morris, when should I expect Miss Singh?" Adrian took a deep breath, preparing to act quickly depending on her answer.

"She just left, so twenty-four minutes, with uncertain seconds." It sounded odd when translated into normal human speech, but Adrian's comprehension of Netspeech was subconscious, so he didn't react to Dr. Morris' "uncertain seconds" phrase.

"Thank you, I'll meet her soon. Sorry for making you worry."

"That is fine. We look forward to seeing you at work soon. Preferably very soon." Dr. Morris ended her last transmission with the close statement, making her phone end the conversation on her side.

Adrian closed his link as well. Twenty-four minutes was enough time to clean his mess, or to make the place messier. That might make for a better story about why he was not in contact with the lab team for three days. Adrian really hoped Dr. Bartoh hadn't told anyone in Kiel about his keen knowledge of early century technology. Living most of his life with his grandfather helped him understand most of the slow and clumsy devices that almost no one in the civilized world knew how to operate anymore.

"Holo," Called out Adrian. The brown-haired girl turned around the wall separating her from Adrian. She looked at him with a neutral expression, something fairly uncommon for him to see, so he said, "I need you to hide."

A brief smile flashed over Holo's face, then she returned to her narrow-eyed smirk which had become the face she used to tease Adrian. "Are you afraid the woman may become envious were she to see me here?"

"No, that's not going to happen." He laughed uneasily. "She's probably twice my age."

He caught himself. Holo was, according to her story, several dozen times his age, not that it made a difference anyway. Looking at her, Adrian felt that she wasn't convinced either. But he didn't have time to worry about what Holo thought, no matter how much he objected to it.

"So can you hide?" Asked Adrian finally.

Holo didn't object. With a curt nod, Holo's ears and tail disappeared. To Adrian it looked as though they retracted into her body, leaving no traces that he could see. The wolf ears that returned into her head were replaced by human ears, and as far as Adrian could tell, she had no tail. "Would this be acceptable, or would you like me to conceal my entire existence here?" Holo looked like a normal young woman right there, a fact that hit Adrian once he noticed that the absence of ears and tail made a significant difference.

Adrian's reply showed a slight confusion of priorities. "You could do that all along? Why didn't you just keep your ears and tail hidden in the first place?"

"It is not so simple. I can only hide them for a few days. But now that I did it," Holo turned away, walking slowly, in a way that used to make her tail sway side to side when she still had it, towards the front door. She opened it partway, telling Adrian, "I will take a walk through this town. Call me when you're done." She held up Madeleine, dangling it by its ornamental strap.

"Wait, you can't go out there! What if they see—" The door closed behind Holo. Adrian sighed. At least she would appear to be a typical town girl. It also meant that she wouldn't have to hide in his closet. Adrian still wondered whether she would have fit, but a reminder that it was Holo sent him a vision of a furious short wolfgirl yelling at him. _Surely_, thought Adrian, _it is better that she goes outside on her own finally._

It would mean waiting for Maryam to arrive. Hopefully she wouldn't stay long. Adrian folded Holo's extra sets of clothing, articles which he bought for her yesterday based on measurements and advice given, by all things, his phone. He didn't like relying on AI so much, but Adrian was clueless about women's fashion, just as he was generally oblivious to fashion in general.

He checked the bathroom. There was a hairbrush on the sink, with some strands colored light brown stuck to the bristles. Adrian looked into the mirror at his messy brown hair, much darker than the ones on the brush. Clearly he wasn't the one using it. He placed it behind the mirror in the empty medicine cabinet.

After clearing all the rooms of any hints that there were any inhabitants besides him, Adrian gave the entire house a final check to be satisfied. Maryam was Dr. Morris' head technician at one of the best known agricultural research institutions on the continent. She would certainly be very observant so Adrian took special care to go through the house slowly. When he was at last satisfied, he fell atop his bed. The analog wall clock told him he still had two minutes left. It had taken him almost twenty minutes to clean such a small space. At that time, Adrian was grateful for the domestic servant machine he had back in the city. It was much more convenient there, as he stared at the second hand revolving clockwise along the face of the clock. _Was that why they called it clockwise? _Thought Adrian, counting down the seconds, waiting for the knock on his door. Analog clocks didn't exist in _East/220-51004-018_. Even the electronic digital clocks had been replaced with the Onet Timesense. Using fringe technology quantum entanglement, the real deal, unlike the crude and inaccurate model in the early twenty-first century, a highly accurate and precise timekeeping system could be achieved. Via Onet, anyone linked to Timesense could access the local time at any coordinate. Adrian once found it impressive, back when he still accessed it.

He absently felt his wrist. There was the feel of warm carbon polymer and clear ceramic. No one wore watches in the city, but in a place like Kiel, it was part of the normal style, so Adrian had read somewhere. But the watches were all digital and ran on pulse kinetics. So long as Adrian's heart kept beating and the watch was secured around his wrist, the watch would keep running. It wasn't new technology, but it was among the most efficient of the "old" devices that inhabitants of Kiel used.

There was a knock at the door. That must be Maryam. Adrian woke from his short daze. With a low groan, he sat up on the bed and crawled onto the floor. Reluctant but with resolve, Adrian walked to the door and opened it to greet Maryam, who was standing alone in a beige overcoat, holding a large black case like the one he used to transport his wheat samples.

"Hello Maryam, come in."

Author's Comments: I will not do these notes very often, but this is to let you know how I intend to move the general direction of the story.

First, the characterization of Holo is based on a hybrid between Ami Koshimizu's portrayal and Brina Palencia's. It's also easier for me to recall Holo's English dub voice (Since she does play Mikoto and I can hear it. In contrast, Ami in the same series but the Japanese original plays Tenma, who sounds pretty different from Holo. Although I guess her Himari sounds somewhat similar.)

Second, those tangents into Adrian's mind are going to persist throughout this story. There is good reason but will take a couple of chapters to come into play.


End file.
